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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27343141">Smiles (Become Thee Well)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misthia/pseuds/StarsCrackedOpen'>StarsCrackedOpen (Misthia)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Things Carried, Unseen [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Affection, Alien Biology, Childhood Memories, Developing Friendships, F/M, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Gen, Jedi Temple (Star Wars), Jedi Training (Star Wars), Light-Hearted, Master &amp; Padawan Relationship(s), Parental Shaak Ti, Smile, Teeth, Togruta (Star Wars), Trust</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:47:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>874</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27343141</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misthia/pseuds/StarsCrackedOpen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Ahsoka, why don’t you ever show your teeth?”</p><p>She looked a little startled. “Oh,” she said thoughtfully. “Habit, I guess.”</p><p>Or: In which Anakin learns his new padawan’s habits, and is puzzled by one in particular.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anakin Skywalker &amp; Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker/Ahsoka Tano</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Things Carried, Unseen [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839160</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>397</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Smiles (Become Thee Well)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So Togruta are mentioned in Legends to be carnivores, and kill some of their smaller prey by biting their necks and breaking them. Their teeth (which seem to frequently come up for Ahsoka in fanfiction, including mine) are presumably pretty sharp, or at least the canines would be. <s>We never see them though that I remember.</s> (See A/N below)</p><p><s>In all truth, it’s probably more an animation consideration/styling than anything else — and I don’t think most characters in TCW do really show their teeth. </s> (A/N: we actually do see them, usually when talking, but it definitely seems more common after the first few episodes, and Ahsoka usually smiles close-lipped anyway.) We do see them a bit more in general in Rebels, as I recall, and Ahsoka’s only distinct teeth there are the canines. In any event, it gave me an idea for a bite-sized (I’m sorry, couldn’t resist) piece.</p><p>Once again, light, fluffy. Aside from this AU I keep promising (I’m working on it), there’s another probably-a-3-shot that would fit in this series that I’m also adding to. </p><p>I basically have 3-4 of these in progress at any given point, and just work on whichever one that I have the words for. I’ll admit, I’m not 100% happy with this one, but hopefully you still enjoy it.</p><p>I own none of these settings or characters, and make no profit from this story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>“‘[...] thy smiles become thee well; therefore in my</em>
</p><p>
  <em>presence still smile, dear my sweet, I prithee.’”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene V</em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Anakin wasn’t overly observant when it came to people’s idiosyncrasies in general; he didn’t possess Obi-Wan’s uncanny knack for reading others, and didn’t mourn that fact. He <em>did</em> tend to consciously catalogue the habits of the people close to him, and the newest person in his orbit was his padawan. After a month or so, Anakin thought he had picked up on most of them.</p><p>She’d occasionally play with or tug on a lek while reading or worried — much like a human would stroke or twirl a lock of hair. She tended to cocoon in her blankets as she slept, tangling herself so completely that he didn’t understand how it could be comfortable. She liked to be barefoot whenever she could.</p><p>To his amusement and her staunch denial, Ahsoka sometimes snored (quietly, almost like the vibrating purr of a rada-cat — and after years of listening to Obi-Wan’s nighttime droning, the small breathy noises she occasionally made were downright <em>musical</em> by comparison). Though Anakin wouldn’t admit it, her tendency to nickname people was growing on him.</p><p>These all were straightforward, but there was one habit of Ahsoka’s that he couldn’t figure out:</p><p>While she smiled easily, her lips were <em>always</em> closed.</p><p>Anakin didn’t think much of it at first, but having noticed it once, he couldn’t <em>stop</em> seeing it. When she laughed, <em>really</em> laughed —</p><p>(Like when Obi-Wan had made them dinner, then tripped over Anakin’s leg as he’d lounged on the couch and dropped a whipped Stewjonian dessert on him)</p><p>— she would usually cup a hand over her mouth, or tip her head down.</p><p>It was curious, and Anakin noticed it more and more as the weeks rolled by. It occurred to him that it might be cultural — he wasn’t very well versed in togruta traditions — but with a string of assignments across various planets, there wasn’t really an opportune moment to ask. By the time they’d returned to Coruscant, exhausted, it was the last thing on his mind.</p><p>A couple of days later at dinner, Ahsoka laughed hard at a story from his padawan days. Her hand cupped over her mouth as usual — and he suddenly remembered to ask. Anakin thought for a moment about the best way to phrase it, trying to wrestle the words into a less awkward question. He quickly became impatient with that and abandoned the effort.</p><p>“Ahsoka, why don’t you ever show your teeth?”</p><p>She looked a little startled. “Huh?”</p><p>Well, at least she didn’t seem to be <em>offended</em>. At her questioning look, Anakin elaborated. “Whenever you smile, or laugh. You cover them or keep your mouth closed.”</p><p>“Oh,” she said thoughtfully. “Habit, I guess.”</p><p>He raised an eyebrow. “A...togruta custom?”</p><p>Ahsoka shook her head. “No, it’s from when I was in the crèche.” Her brow furrowed. “Humans have milk teeth, right?”</p><p>Anakin nodded, now curious where this was going.</p><p>“Togruta do too. When our adult set comes in, the eyeteeth are usually first.” Ahsoka smiled, lips still together. “I was the only togruta in my clan, and mine were kind of...<em>big</em> for my mouth. So when I smiled, some of the other younglings were...”</p><p>She trailed off, then shrugged. “Well, I <em>did</em> look a little funny. But some of them called me ‘Fangs’ for a while, and a few started to hang back. They thought I looked threatening when I smiled.”</p><p>“That’s ridiculous,” Anakin said, frowning, but he remembered all too well how some of the younglings had treated him when he’d come to the temple. Young didn’t mean <em>kind</em>.</p><p>Ahsoka seemed unbothered by the memory. “When I asked Master Shaak Ti about it, she said she had similar issues as a youngling, and suggested I cover them. She said it might help me in other ways as well.”</p><p>Anakin regarded her skeptically. “Like...?”</p><p>“She said that looking less threatening could be used as a strategy, and that being underestimated could work to my advantage.” He nodded, but Ahsoka didn’t sound entirely convinced by this argument. While Anakin hadn’t known her long, he did know she did <em>not</em> like being underestimated.</p><p>He smiled wryly. “I think I’m learning not to underestimate you.”</p><p>A half-smile back. “I grew into them. I guess I just never lost the old habit.”</p><p>“Well, <em>Snips</em>,” he said with emphasis on the nickname and a playful nudge through the bond, “I think you have a plenty big mouth <em>now</em>.” She rolled her eyes and he continued, smirking. “I’m no youngling. You don’t have to hide them around me.“</p><p>A mischievous look sparked in her eye and she leaned forward on the table. Ahsoka <em>grinned</em> then, for the first time since he’d known her, and he saw just how wickedly <em>sharp</em> those eyeteeth were. Anakin found himself grinning back.</p><p>“They suit you, Snips.”</p><p>He meant it, and in their growing training bond the sincerity resonated. Ahsoka’s smile became less exaggerated and more genuine — but somehow widened even more.</p><p>After that, Anakin noticed that while she still usually covered them — especially near prey species — she never bothered anymore when it was just the two of them.</p><p>He was glad.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>Fin.</em> </strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*EDIT: Wow, I'm humbled by how many views this has gotten! I'm wondering if maybe it was linked somewhere? If so, I'd love to know how you found it -- and I'm grateful that you did! Thanks so much for reading!*</p><p>There you have it, some early series bond/trust-building/getting to know each other. Can be read as pre-pre-pre-relationship, but like most of these early-series pieces, it’s very much a building block to a strong friendship/partnership that years <i>later</i> could transmute to more.</p><p>Thanks for reading! As ever, please let me know what you thought, good or bad — comments make my day!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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